Spring of Blossom
by nyeeh
Summary: I'm a huge kogure fan and this is my first attempt at fanfic for slam dunk. this is set after kogure and akagi graduates where kogure falls for a classmate whose brother is in Shohoku high too. rr please


Disclaimer: I don't own SD characters. Yupp..

**Reiko's POV**

I walked down the hallway, staring at the cherry blossoms outside the window this early spring. The first day at Tendoushi University was a total whirlwind – students shuffled in from all over the world, a myriad of thousands of faces pieced together in the buzz of the noise. The university's prestige brought the best of Japan with the best of the rest of the world into this central congregation. I was one of the few here on scholarship. My whole family migrated from Singapore to Kanagawa, Japan this year too, because my Dad had to be based here for his work.

So there, here I was in a totally foreign country with terrible Japanese to speak of and a whole year of mystery. I was half Japanese and half Chinese but I spoke English best. Basically, I was a huge mess in this huge college.

Being in homeroom was something I really had to get used to. I took my place next to a decent-looking bespectacled guy in the classroom. He smiled very slightly at me, or at least I think he did. And I smiled back, quite as awkwardly.

I was about to introduce myself when this imminent character hovered over and sat down on the other side next to me. He was a hefty 197cm and next to him, I felt like an ant. He was tall, dark and built and I was taken away by his sheer height. I couldn't bring myself to smile at him even though I couldn't help but stare at his stern demeanor, shocked. That was when a really beautiful voice rang beside me.

"Ohayo, Akagi-kun."

I turned to look at the voice and found the bespectacled guy smiling broadly at this giant. I looked at him, wide-eyed, and forced myself to just stare at the blackboard in front.

"Ohayo, Kogure." The giant replied in a deep rumbling voice, without much change in his facial expression. I must have looked really shocked because Kogure, whom I've unwillingly grown to take a general liking for, smiled at me again reassuringly.

Quickly, as the speed picked up for the day, I almost forgot the existence of this pair of friends. I made a few acquaintances and drifted from corner to corner of the school. I was practically running up and down the place, trying to get used to immensity of the place. It was not until the end of the day when I was preparing to walk to the bus stop that I met the beautiful voice again.

"Konnichiwa! Do you remember me?" Kogure asked me in his fluent Japanese, smiling and waving at me as I walked into the bus stop.

"Oh yes, homeroom. I remember" I replied quietly, smiling. I was trying to hide my lack of fluency in Japanese, so I turned away from him after smiling politely.

"Are you new here? You don't look local," He continues in his gentle demeanor. I was still trying to ignore him because of the language barrier. I found it hard to communicate because I spoke Japanese quite slowly despite understanding all his questions.

I guess he felt like he was talking to himself after awhile because he scratched his head and laughed. (inserts Chibi Kogure scratching head and laughing) "Oh dear, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Kogure Kiminobu. Nice to meet you."

He extended his hand to give me a handshake. I smiled politely again and took his hand. It felt surprisingly warm despite the slow entrance to spring.

"My name is Tenshin Reiko. I'm half Japanese, and I've just moved here not long ago. So I don't speak Japanese that well. Gomenasai."

I bowed slightly, blushing. He hovered over me too. He was really tall but unlike his friend, he didn't feel at all threatening. I looked up at his pearly whites and defined features against the sun and found him remotely charming.

"Oh okay. Where were you from?"

"Singapore. You live here?" I ask, taking a bit of initiative to break the ice now.

"Aye." He grinned. "Are you going home?"

"I was planning to, but I thought I'd pop by Shohoku High for a while since it's on the way…" I replied, waiting to explain to him that I was going to check out how my baby brother was doing on the first day of school. He's always been quite shy and inward.

But when I mentioned Shohoku, Kogure's face lit up and said, "Shohoku? Why… that's my old school!"

I raised an eyebrow and watch his features dance animatedly on his face as he talked about his old school. I found out then that Kogure was vice captain of Shohoku's basketball team just a year ago. He and his friend Akagi-san led a team of wonderful players to the National Basketball finals back then and their team rocked the province.

"That explains why he looks so toned and defined," I thought to myself as Kogure rattled on. Kogure offered to bring me around Shohoku after I explained to him my reasons for going there. Apparently he was really excited about it. On the bus, as we talked, I found it easier to open up to his smiling and kind manners as he spoke very candidly of everything in Kanagawa.

"It's a really nice place to be in indeed." I commented, watching the sea scenery as the bus drove past it. It didn't take long before we both alighted at Shohoku High.

**Kogure's POV**

She was a shy stranger with awkward Japanese but I found it hard to dismiss the fact that she did look different from the rest of the boisterous lot. There was a certain hardness about the way she behaved – a wry unwritten determination embroiled in her skin somewhere. She was pretty in a very sweet way with black-brown hair, deep hazel eyes and a very beautiful tan. Her smile was brilliant too but I was most intrigued by her brooding silence.

I guess I just had to get to know her and I was given this chance to at the bus stop later. She revealed that she was not local and that her brother studied in Shohoku High. If her brother was anything like her, I could see a potential basketball player. The tenacity written all over her face was a rarity and I admired that. I guess I did entertain the thought of returning to Shohoku for a while and her appearance just gave me a reason to do so.

"Megane-kun! Kogure-sempai!" a chorus of voices rung in the air as the basketball team ran around the school compound when they spotted me in Shohoku High. Reiko-san looked impressed enough by the greeting when she smiled up at me. I beamed a little with some pride and yelled back at them, "Keep it up guys!"

I was leading Reiko-san to the classrooms, when the basketball team conversed a little too loudly in their warm up run. I was painfully embarrassed by their lack of discretion and felt even more embarrassed that Reiko-san had to deal with the same kind of nonsense from those rascals.

"Who's that girl with Megane-kun? She's quite pretty eh.."  
"Maybe it's his new girlfriend?"  
"So fast!"

"What does she see in him? It's only day 1!"  
"Why did he bring her here? This is no place to date!"  
"Megane-kun is so sly…"

Sakuragi, Miyagi rattled on between themselves, giggling and laughing at me behind my back. I made a mental note to sort it out with them later while I cringed my way through to the classrooms. I sneaked a look at Reiko, hoping she wasn't utterly embarrassed by the ruckus that the boys kicked up. To my surprise, she looked very much unaffected. There and then, I blushed for my overreaction.

"School's over. Maybe your brother is still hanging around in class. What class is he in?"

"Year 1 class 4, I think…" she said and I led her there. The class was a huge mess, the boys were throwing paper planes all over the place and the girls were just giggling in masses. I was swept into a dizzy swirl of nostalgia.

"Aneki!"a boy of a familiar set of deep brown eyes called out to Reiko-san. Her eyes immediately softened and ruffled the boy's hair.

"How was your first day?"

"Great… the people here are wonderful. And you?" the boy asked Reiko very genuinely. She then looked up at me and smiled ingenuously,

"A lot better than expected."

And my heart skipped a beat.


End file.
